Comments on February 2007
This was the 19th equal warmest February on record at Durham since 1850. There was a wide range of temperatures, from -4.2°C on the 6th to 13.8°C on the 2nd, the warmest February day since 1998 when 16 .7°C was registered. After the first few balmy days, cooler days were accompanied by some sharp frosts, with the grass minimum on the 6th being the lowest February value since 1994. There were 17 ground frosts, the overall average temperature notwithstanding. There were 8 air frosts, all in the period between the 3rd and the 10th.

At 5.6°C this was the 3rd warmest winter on record, beaten only by 1989 (6.3°C) and 1998 (5.7°C). I reported last month that the 12-month average had risen above 10°C once again, for the first time since January 2005. Given such a mild February, it is not surprising that the last 12 months have been even warmer, indeed the warmest ‘year’ on record at Durham ever, average temperature reaching 10.27°C.

Rainfall was above average for February, although not remarkably so, and all three cumulative measures are now above average too. It was another sunny month, although less sunny than the exceptional January; taken together, the amount of sunshine at the start of the year has been very welcome. In general it was a calm month, but there was a gust of 88.9 kph on the 27th which was a very blustery day.